US Pastor Arrested For Assaulting Wife Who Got Upgraded To First Class In Flight

In a shocking incident, a pastor assaulted his wife on an airplane after she got upgraded to first class and he did not. He has been detained and is facing federal charges, as per a report in the Independent.

On July 2, while travelling from Seattle to Anchorage on Alaska Airlines flight 275, a group of passengers witnessed 75-year-old Roger Allan Holmberg Sr. verbally abusing and hitting his wife. The lawsuit, filed on July 3, claims that the couple was on their way to Alaska from their Virginia home for a meeting "related to their ministry."

According to the report, the couple had known each other for about 20 years before getting married 1.5 years ago after the death of the pastor's first wife. A passenger, who was not identified in the lawsuit, claimed that shortly after the 3.5-hour flight took off, things started to go awry. She was seated in first class close to Holmberg's wife. The pastor, travelling in the economy class, confronted his wife at her seat in the first of three different instances, according to the lawsuit.

He said, "How the hell did you get the upgrade?" To which, the wife replied that she is "a gold point member. "Don't speak to me like that," she added. He approached her again and insisted that she check something on his phone before showing her the finger and skulking away.

According to the lawsuit, he came back a third time and attempted to strike his wife before her seatmate intervened and blocked him. He "pushed in front of" his wife's seatmate "and attempted to swing his arm towards (the) victim," according to the complaint.

However, the person seated next to her "leaned forward to block the attempted strike, but (Holmberg) still appeared to strike the top of victim's head with his hand," the complaint added. Holmberg's wife also revealed that once a confrontation left her with a broken finger.

An off-duty cop sitting near Holmberg's wife then noticed what was going on and threatened to arrest the pastor if he didn't stop. "You cannot be doing that," the cop told Homberg, before adding that "if there were any further incidents, we would put him in handcuffs." The pastor then remained in his seat for the duration of the flight.

The man was detained by airport police after landing at 6:41 pm, and his wife claimed he "had a history of abusing her." She added that her husband was aware that hitting her might cause a seizure since she had epilepsy.

When questioned by FBI agents and airport police, Holmberg stated that he and his wife had been visiting a marriage counsellor to patch up problems in their relationship. However, the complaint stated that he blamed everything on his wife. It stated, "(Holmberg) stated (his wife) was disrespectful to him often and had anger issues. (She) had grabbed (Holmberg's) leg in the past while (he) was driving a vehicle and broke her finger. (Holmberg) also stated (his wife) had grabbed his genitals in the past with such force that (he) was in pain."

The pastor said that he was "upset" about his wife's first-class upgrade "because he wanted his wife to travel with him and sit next to him." According to the complaint, Holmberg told investigators that he had only "tapped his wife on the head in passing to get her attention," downplaying the seriousness of the action. "Although he was upset, he stated he was not a violent person and did not intend to hurt his wife," it continued.

Notably, Holmberg was charged with one count of assault. He might face up to a year in prison if convicted.